Stargazer

Stargazer

Rated: PG-13

Pairing: Narcissa/Lily, James/Lucius

Summary: A night at a pureblood social event through the eyes of Andromeda Black.

Andromeda Black frowned at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. Tonight was the Yuletide Ball, an annual social event that was held by the Chrayns, who were an extremely elite pureblood family. Several high-class families would be attending, the Blacks being only one of them.

It was currently five o’ clock; the carriage would be departing to Chrayn Hall in half an hour.

She smoothed down the front of her gown. Both of her sisters had dates; they would be bringing their future husbands. But Andromeda was going alone. Her parents had tried to arrange a marriage for her, but nobody had wanted to marry her: the middle sister, the boring one, the one with absolutely no personality. The Blacks were a very prosperous family and usually had no problem arranging marriages.

Andromeda wasn’t even particularly horrid looking or anything of the like. Of course she didn’t have her sister Narcissa’s cold elegance, but she was still beautiful: all the Black sisters were. In fact, Andromeda would sometimes admit to herself that she was actually better looking than Bellatrix, the youngest of the three sisters. And yet, Bellatrix had been able to get a suitor. It just wasn’t fair.

She examined her appearance, comparing herself to her sisters and hoping to find the flaw that kept men away. Her hair was a shiny straw color, Cissa’s was a beautiful pale golden-blond, and Bellatrix had inherited her mother’s sleek dark hair. Andromeda’s fell just past her shoulder in wide waves; Bella’s flowed neatly down her back; Cissa’s was silky and reached her shoulders with a slight natural wave to the strands. Personally, Andromeda liked her hair. It was soft to the touch and easy to manage.

Eyes. Andromeda’s were of a sleek slate color. She often thought that they looked too plain compared to Bellatrix and Narcissa’s eyes of navy and clear blue. Maybe it was the eyes, then.

All three had slender figures, Andromeda being the skinniest. But her slimness had never been appreciated; instead, her family said she was too skinny. And she partially agreed, but strict diets had been forced on all three of them to keep their shapes, so she could do nothing to improve it. She shook her head. Sometimes aristocratic families just did the most idiotic things. What she wouldn’t give to be able to munch on chocolates from Honeydukes like all the other children.

She sighed. No matter what, she would never be the most liked. Narcissa was elegant, reformed, and disdainful of those lower than her. She was Mother’s favorite. Father loved Bellatrix and spoiled her to bits because she was naturally intelligent and cunning, like a true Slytherin should be. And what about Andromeda? She was the middle child, the ever quiet and studious one. Everybody ignored her. And the fact that she had been sorted into Gryffindor, of all houses, outcasted her even more amongst her family.

Andromeda shook her head. Of course, Mother and Father would eventually be able to find her a suitor. Eventually.

She walked out of the room and down the marble stairs to the Entrance Hall. She spotted her sisters by the door: Narcissa was sitting on a bench and Bellatrix stood silently next to her. She walked over to them, the heels of her formal shoes clicking against the marble floor and echoing loudly throughout the entire room.

She nodded at them. “Narcissa, Bellatrix.”

Blue eyes flickered up at her and the blonde acknowledged her existence. Bellatrix spoke. “Hello, Andy,” she said in the sweet tones that always got Father to do whatever she wanted to.

Andromeda gave her a wry smile and stood by her. Bella was an inch or so taller than her, despise the fact that she was two years younger. The younger girl wasn’t especially tall, but Andromeda was small for her age. It was another one of her many flaws. Her thoughts fled her as two people glided naturally into the room: her parents. “Children, let us depart,” Father greeted, continuing to lead his wife toward the now open doors without even the slightest glance at them.

Narcissa, Bellatrix, and Andromeda followed obediently.

* * *

Andromeda watched as Narcissa and Bellatrix were escorted into the grand building by their fiancés, Lucius Malfoy and Rodolphus Lestrange. She didn’t particularly care for either of the two men; Lucius was too arrogant and smug for his own good, and Rodolphus was extremely fierce and demanding. But she still wished for a suitor. How was she going to marry? Certainly not out of ‘true love’? No, the Blacks didn’t believe in such fickle things. For some reason unknown to her at the time, she felt a pang of remorse at the thought.

“Andromeda?”

She whirled around elegantly at the sound of her name. There stood James Potter (in deep blue dress robes) and Lily Evans (in a well-put-together purple ensemble), two fellow Gryffindors she knew from school. They were one year younger than her. “James. Lily. Good evening,” she greeted politely, smiling slightly. Lily beamed at her.

“Hi,” the redhead said brightly. Andromeda could tell that this was her first time attending the Ball. Yes, that’s right… Evans was a Mudblood, wasn’t she? She would never have been able to get into the Hall if it weren’t for James, who came from the elitist Potter family.

“You’re Sirius’s cousin, right? Andromeda…Black?” James asked curiously. She nodded.

“And you’re from the notorious Potter family, of course. I haven’t seen you here before, though.” She tilted her head to the side in question. James smiled nervously.

“I’ve only been here once before, and that was when I was seven. Apparently, my parents thought I was old enough to come with them. …They were wrong. Very, very wrong.”

Andromeda laughed softly, the sound sounding foreign in her ears. Ladies only laugh when they are expected to, was the rule. “I’m sure you’ll do fine. Where are your parents, anyway? Did your family arrive together?”

James shook his head. “They should be here by now. I had to go pick up Lily before I came here.”

“Don’t you have a date, Andromeda?” Lily voiced suddenly.

Andromeda’s eyes darkened. “No, I don’t. Cissa and Bella both do, though. Narcissa and Bellatrix, that is,” she clarified. She thought she saw something flicker through Lily’s eyes, but she could’ve just imagined it. James frowned.

“That’s right, they’re your sisters, aren’t they?” He scowled. “Bloody Slytherins bitches.”

Lily frowned at him. “James!” she said indignantly.

“What? I’m only speaking the truth here.”

“Well, can’t you say it somewhere else that’s not here—” She nodded toward where Andromeda was standing with her eyes cast down.

“It’s quite all right, Lily,” the blonde said quietly. “I can’t honestly say I don’t agree with him.” James smirked.

“See?”

Lily looked horrified. “But—they’re your sisters!”

Andromeda looked away, distracting herself by studying the intricate design of the mansion. The Gryffindor couple almost didn’t hear her barely audible reply, “Only in blood.”

The two stood still in silence, unsure of what to say. Andromeda snapped out of her reverie and started toward the entrance of Chrayn Hall, her skirts flowing gracefully behind her.

* * *

The ballroom was swarming with wizards and witches dressed in an array of colors. Many were on the dance floor, some were by the refreshments tables, and others were just milling around. Andromeda scanned the room to see who had arrived. She didn’t really have any friends, but she did know most of the younger generation of purebloods that usually attended the Ball. Yes, there was Rhysa Plemington, a beautiful (but ditzy) witch who had inherited some Veela blood from her mother; Victoria Parkinson, a spoilt brat that spent every moment of her life complaining; Myra Black, one of her few bearable cousins; Keshan Jaymarr, a boy she didn’t know too well because he did absolutely nothing but read; Matthew Alaphina, who was even smaller than her, despite the fact that he was already seventeen; Sirius Black, her favorite cousin that always made her smile; Hilary Chrayn, a huge flirt who was popular with everyone, it was her family that hosted the Ball every year; and the list went on.

She quickly scanned the room for her sisters. Neither Narcissa nor Lucius were present—Andromeda grimaced at the thought of what they might be doing. After a closer inspection, she realized that James Potter and Lily Evans weren’t there either. She raised an eyebrow. Bellatrix, on the other hand, was dancing with some dark bloke while Rodolphus was busy stuffing his mouth and didn’t seem to care.

She walked carefully around the crowds toward the food. The couples on the dance floor seemed to be doing some kind of waltz. Andromeda vaguely wondered how many of the pairs had been arranged by their parents and how many of them were truly in love.

* * *

Andromeda stopped as she emerged from the hallway the toilet was located in. She heard sounds…not just the normal sounds of a household, but sounds… They were coming her way. Moans, voices, groans, all blended together… Her eyes widened when she saw who was making the noises.

James Potter and Lucius Malfoy were coming down the corridor. James had his arms around the blonde’s waist and one of his hands was groping Lucius’s arse. Lucius was stumbling (Andromeda would have found this incredibly amusing if it weren’t for the situation) and making pleased noises with his throat. The top buttons of his crisp white shirt had been unbuttoned to expose part of his chest and a dark grey tie hung loosely around his shoulders. James was currently sucking on Lucius’s neck.

“Ravish me now, James…” the aristocratic blonde moaned loudly.

“Let’s get a room, love,” James said softly, continuing working on the other’s neck.

Andromeda’s grey eyes were wide in horror now. Does Cissa know? was her first thought. When she realized that she was about to be discovered, the girl backed into a nearby room, attempting to be as silent as possible. She quietly shut the door and leaned up against it, breathing heavily. Potter and Malfoy… Gryffindor and Slytherin… Who would’ve thought?

There was a gasp. Andromeda blinked. It hadn’t come from her…so that meant…

She looked up and instantly backed up against the door, eyes widening again. Her eyes were really going to ache later on tonight…

Lily Evans was being held against the opposite wall, her hair slightly rumpled. Holding her there was…oh my…Narcissa. Their lips were merely an inch apart and anybody could tell that they had been snogging. Narcissa’s usually pale skin was flushed a pretty pink and Lily’s pallor was similar. Their lips were slightly swollen and Narcissa’s lipstick had been smeared.

Andromeda shook her head and quickly exited, forgetting about the danger of encountering James and Lucius for the time being. Luckily, the hall was deserted. She leaned against the nearest wall and thought about what she had just seen.

Narcissa—Narcissa! snogging Lily Evans? A Mudblood?!? And a Mudblood girl, at that rate. No, Andromeda wasn’t homophobic or anything, but she would have never expected Narcissa, of all people—Narcissa Black!

She shook her head. If Narcissa wanted to swing that way, it was none of her business. But wasn’t she aware of the danger of doing things like that? What if it hadn’t been good ol’ Andy that had walked in—what if it had been somebody else…like Rhysa Plemington, who was the biggest gossip there was, or even Bellatrix, who was suckup and would run off to tell Daddy in an instant. What was Cissa thinking?

Andromeda looked up when she head a click. Narcissa had emerged from the room, looking much more put together than before. Andromeda often admired her ability to mask her true emotions, however annoying it was to not be able to see what her sister was feeling. “Hi,” the older sister said, and with that said Andromeda could tell that her sister was nervous. ‘Hi’ was much too plebian for her to say ordinarily.

“Hello,” Andromeda replied in kind.

Silence. Narcissa shifted nervously. “Umm…” Andromeda waited for her to speak. “I…I can explain.”

Andromeda raised an eyebrow. “Fine. Explain,” she said with unusual coldness. Narcissa actually flinched at her tone of voice. Andromeda felt an oddly satisfied at that fact.

There was more silence. Their eyes met: slate and clear blue.

“I love her!” Narcissa burst out suddenly.

Now that was unexpected…Narcissa, love? Andromeda didn’t say a thing and forced herself to mask the look of shock she knew would be on her face. She observed her sister to see if she was speaking the truth. Cissa’s cheeks were turning pink again, her fists were clenched into balls in the most unladylike fashion, and she was biting her bottom lip. Yes, then. Definitely the truth.

“You love her,” Andromeda repeated icily, her voice ringing out loudly throughout the hall. Narcissa cringed again. But then she redeemed herself by looking straight into her sister’s eyes. The intensity of the look took Andromeda aback.

“Yes.”

The silence lingered again, neither knowing what to say. Then, Andromeda phrased her words in her head the best she could and decided to speak.

“I won’t tell them.”

Narcissa truly looked grateful, and more yet, surprised. Andromeda frowned slightly. Did she really expect me to run off to tell the entire family? With a start, she realized that that was exactly what Narcissa had expected. How low did her sister think she was?

“Thank you, Andy,” Narcissa said. Andromeda raised her eyebrow at the nickname to hide her surprise. Cissa hadn’t called her ‘Andy’ since she was twelve and Narcissa was thirteen…

“What about Lucius?”

Narcissa frowned at the mention of her fiancé. “What about Lucius? He’s with Potter, and couldn’t give a bloody damn.” Andromeda must’ve looked surprised, because Cissa let out a hollow laugh. “What, you really thought that Lucius would be content with being with me? The man’s a sex fiend. And as I don’t do a thing with him, he went off to find other lovers. I must say, Potter was a damn good choice.”

Andromeda shook my head. “I knew about them. It just surprises me that he told you,” she said, and then paused. “And that you told him,” she added as an afterthought.

She laughed again, and Andromeda shivered slightly at the sound of it. “My dear Andy, Lucius didn’t tell me a thing. We don’t have a trust-trust relationship here, if that’s what you’re thinking. I went over to the Malfoy Manor for a social call and found the two of them snogging each other senseless in the parlor. Lucius walked in on Lily and me by accident as well, he had been patrolling the corridors at Hogwarts when he discovered us.” She sighed. “It’s dangerous, but we’re happier this way. Obviously, Lucius and I could never love each other. To tell you the truth, we can’t really even stand being in a room together at the same time. I love Lily, and if I assume correctly, Lucius’s heart belongs solely to James.”

The younger sister stood there and absorbed all the information in silence. Narcissa and Andromeda both looked up when they heard the door open and Lily walk out. She hovered behind, uncertain. Narcissa smiled at her, and Lily beamed back. Andromeda could feel the love radiating between them—however horribly stupid and cliché that sounded. But really…it had been ages since she had last seen Cissa genuinely smile. Andromeda watched as Narcissa beckoned Lily to join them, and Lily walked over uncertainly. Narcissa gently wrapped an arm around her waist and looked at Andromeda. Then she looked back at her lover. “I love you,” Cissa whispered in Lily’s ear.

Lily’s green eyes sparkled in adoration. “Love you too,” she whispered back. And then their lips met in a chaste kiss.

Andromeda stood there, an observer of two lovers. And she didn’t say a thing, because this was something she could accept. Because now she knew that Narcissa was not as perfect as she had seemed. She had her flaws—and Lily was one of them. She knew that Cissa would not be able to remain with Lily forever. One day, Narcissa’s heart would be broken because of the expectations of the Black family.

Andromeda could not help but feel triumphant.